Rudolfs Balcers (#21) celebrates his seventh goal at this championship with Sandis Vilmanis (#23) and Eduards Tralmaks (#34)
photo: © INTERNATIONAL ICE HOCKEY FEDERATION / ANDRE RINGUETTE
Latvia powered into the quarterfinals of the 2026 IIHF World Championship with a convincing victory over Hungary in its final preliminary round game.
Rudolfs Balcers set a national record with seven goals in a single World Championship to kickstart the scoring. And there were three goals from the first three Latvian power plays to open a 4-0 lead midway through the game.
A quick double from Deniss Smirnovs and Eduards Tralmaks late in the first put the game out of Hungary’s reach. In the second, Toms Andersons added a fourth before the teams traded goals towards the end of the second period. Renars Krastenbergs and Sandis Vilmanis (two) completed the scoring in the third.
Victory lifts the Latvians to 12 points, securing a top-four place in Group A regardless of the result between USA and Austria later today. That’s a sixth appearance in the last eight, with Latvia looking to add to the bronze it won in 2023.
Not everybody fancied Latvia’s chances in Switzerland, so forward Toms Andersons is enjoying upsetting the odds.
“It feels great,” he said. “We’re going with this young team that maybe nobody believed in except us within our group. I’m really happy about this group’s chemistry, and we’re just going to go for the next win.”
Hungary finishes seventh in Group A, avoiding relegation thanks to its win over Great Britain.
Returning in 2027 is a big deal for Hungarian hockey. “It’s huge for the popularity of hockey and everything back home with the new government,” said Janos Hari. “We need good popularity for the sport. Hopefully we’ve improved and can get two wins next year. Our goal, too, is in a couple of years to get into the quarterfinals like Austria did in 2025. You always want to be one step better.”
This game was decided in the first period. After an even start, Latvia got ahead on 9:48, converting its first power play after just seven seconds. Balcers was the scorer, but this was all about an inch-perfect pass from Vilmanis, who effectively shot the puck into the net off his colleague’s stick. The goal, a seventh of the tournament in the arena where he plays for ZSC Lions, moves Balcers ahead of Arvids Petersons’ record of six goals in a single World Championship for Latvia.
And there was more to come. A second power play brought a second goal. It took a little longer, but Smirnovs’ touch on a long-range wrister from Kristaps Zile had enough to beat Bence Balizs in the Hungarian net.
Seconds before the intermission, it was 3-0. Tralmaks made it two goals in two games since he arrived from Grand Rapids. This was a fine effort: perceptive to get the puck to Haralds Egle in the corner; determined to charge forward and occupy the net front; sharp-witted to respond to a couple of ricochets and shoot past Balizs.
The Latvian PP clicked again in the second, improving to three from three on the night. Oskars Batna produced a great display of power forward play to win his battle against the wall before setting up Toms Andersons in front for his first goal of the tournament.
Andersons enjoyed that moment. “Krasty [Renars Krastenbergs] put the puck back down and Batsy [Oskars Batna], our centre, is a big guy, so he won the battle and put it in the middle,” he said. “I just had to score. It was a nice pass.”
But Hungary’s Hari was last happy: “Terrible penalty-killing today, and overall, terrible penalty-killing at the World Championship this year.”
Kristers Gudlevskis had little to do as Hungary struggled to generate offence. But he pulled off a magnificent save to deny Istvan Sofron from close range after Kristof Papp’s deceptive feed from behind the net created a glorious opportunity.
And Latvia added a fifth goal when Miks Tumanovs thumped in a point shot after a face-off win. His effort from a central position took a faint deflection off a Hungarian defender to deceive Balizs.
There was some consolation for the Magyars late in the middle frame when a well-worked play saw Marton Nemes pot his first of the tournament to get his team on the board. Strong work on the boards enabled Zeteny Hadobas to send a cross-ice feed for Nemes to whip a shot to the top shelf.
In the third, Alberts Smits was denied his first World Championship goal when his shot came back off the post. Then the teenager drew another penalty, only to find Hungary’s PK tighten up at last and deny the Latvians a fourth power play goal.
Krastenbergs potted his second of the tournament after a lovely feed across the crease from Egle in the 55th minute before Vilmanis sprinted away for a shorthanded tally with three minutes left. Then Vilmanis got a fourth power play goal to make the final score 8-1.
Rudolfs Balcers set a national record with seven goals in a single World Championship to kickstart the scoring. And there were three goals from the first three Latvian power plays to open a 4-0 lead midway through the game.
A quick double from Deniss Smirnovs and Eduards Tralmaks late in the first put the game out of Hungary’s reach. In the second, Toms Andersons added a fourth before the teams traded goals towards the end of the second period. Renars Krastenbergs and Sandis Vilmanis (two) completed the scoring in the third.
Victory lifts the Latvians to 12 points, securing a top-four place in Group A regardless of the result between USA and Austria later today. That’s a sixth appearance in the last eight, with Latvia looking to add to the bronze it won in 2023.
Not everybody fancied Latvia’s chances in Switzerland, so forward Toms Andersons is enjoying upsetting the odds.
“It feels great,” he said. “We’re going with this young team that maybe nobody believed in except us within our group. I’m really happy about this group’s chemistry, and we’re just going to go for the next win.”
Hungary finishes seventh in Group A, avoiding relegation thanks to its win over Great Britain.
Returning in 2027 is a big deal for Hungarian hockey. “It’s huge for the popularity of hockey and everything back home with the new government,” said Janos Hari. “We need good popularity for the sport. Hopefully we’ve improved and can get two wins next year. Our goal, too, is in a couple of years to get into the quarterfinals like Austria did in 2025. You always want to be one step better.”
This game was decided in the first period. After an even start, Latvia got ahead on 9:48, converting its first power play after just seven seconds. Balcers was the scorer, but this was all about an inch-perfect pass from Vilmanis, who effectively shot the puck into the net off his colleague’s stick. The goal, a seventh of the tournament in the arena where he plays for ZSC Lions, moves Balcers ahead of Arvids Petersons’ record of six goals in a single World Championship for Latvia.
And there was more to come. A second power play brought a second goal. It took a little longer, but Smirnovs’ touch on a long-range wrister from Kristaps Zile had enough to beat Bence Balizs in the Hungarian net.
Seconds before the intermission, it was 3-0. Tralmaks made it two goals in two games since he arrived from Grand Rapids. This was a fine effort: perceptive to get the puck to Haralds Egle in the corner; determined to charge forward and occupy the net front; sharp-witted to respond to a couple of ricochets and shoot past Balizs.
The Latvian PP clicked again in the second, improving to three from three on the night. Oskars Batna produced a great display of power forward play to win his battle against the wall before setting up Toms Andersons in front for his first goal of the tournament.
Andersons enjoyed that moment. “Krasty [Renars Krastenbergs] put the puck back down and Batsy [Oskars Batna], our centre, is a big guy, so he won the battle and put it in the middle,” he said. “I just had to score. It was a nice pass.”
But Hungary’s Hari was last happy: “Terrible penalty-killing today, and overall, terrible penalty-killing at the World Championship this year.”
Kristers Gudlevskis had little to do as Hungary struggled to generate offence. But he pulled off a magnificent save to deny Istvan Sofron from close range after Kristof Papp’s deceptive feed from behind the net created a glorious opportunity.
And Latvia added a fifth goal when Miks Tumanovs thumped in a point shot after a face-off win. His effort from a central position took a faint deflection off a Hungarian defender to deceive Balizs.
There was some consolation for the Magyars late in the middle frame when a well-worked play saw Marton Nemes pot his first of the tournament to get his team on the board. Strong work on the boards enabled Zeteny Hadobas to send a cross-ice feed for Nemes to whip a shot to the top shelf.
In the third, Alberts Smits was denied his first World Championship goal when his shot came back off the post. Then the teenager drew another penalty, only to find Hungary’s PK tighten up at last and deny the Latvians a fourth power play goal.
Krastenbergs potted his second of the tournament after a lovely feed across the crease from Egle in the 55th minute before Vilmanis sprinted away for a shorthanded tally with three minutes left. Then Vilmanis got a fourth power play goal to make the final score 8-1.
Hungary vs Latvia - 2026 IIHF Men's World Championship
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